🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
Satellite tagging studies have shown some basking sharks cross entire ocean basins between feeding seasons.
Although commonly seen cruising near the ocean surface, tagged basking sharks have been recorded diving to depths exceeding 900 meters. At these depths, pressure is more than 90 times greater than at sea level, and sunlight disappears completely.
💥 Impact (click to read)
Descending nearly a kilometer exposes the shark to crushing pressure, near-freezing temperatures, and total darkness. For a fish that often appears sluggish and surface-bound, this vertical migration reveals a hidden capacity for extreme environmental tolerance.
Such deep dives suggest basking sharks track plankton layers that shift vertically between day and night, linking surface ecosystems to deep ocean food webs. This behavior challenges the stereotype of the basking shark as a passive drifter and instead positions it as an active participant in complex oceanic migrations.
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